Ascom Timeplex helps Saturn Global Network deliver managed network services for the international finance community; Network backbone expands to over 90 nodes on five continents.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1995--Ascom Timeplex, a major manufacturer of LAN and WAN products, is providing the network infrastructure for the rapid growth of specialist network outsourcer, Saturn Global Network (SGN).

Using a network of Ascom Timeplex LINK/2+ bandwidth managers, SGN provides large corporate organizations, including renowned financial institutions such as Standard Bank and Prudential Bache, with dedicated end-to-end international voice and data links.

Recent new clients include Finnish Bank Kansallis Osake Panki (KOP), NM Rothschilds, Standard & Poor's Comstock, Westpac Banking Corp. and Chapdelaine & Co. KOP will use the network for direct voice links between trading rooms in London and New York. NM Rothschilds is utilizing links for traffic between treasury dealing systems, also in London and New York.

The SGN service was developed from an international network created by the MW Marshall Group, a market leader in foreign exchange and money market brokering. To maximize its investment, MW Marshall decided to establish Saturn Global Network as a separate business offering international managed network services to the financial services industry. As the service develops, SGN plans to extend it to other industries.

As a managed network service provider, SGN buys network bandwidth wholesale to then sell and manage in smaller lots. This allows its customers to consider communication options for specific applications -- for example, dedicated voice links between trading rooms in the U.S. and Australia -- that previously were not commercially viable.

Saturn Global Network manages those links so that customers do not have to worry about arranging and managing their own communication circuits. The SGN network allows users to connect to different parts of their own multi-national organizations, as well as to other SGN customers anywhere in the world.

Ascom Timeplex Provides International Backbone Network 

To simultaneously supply the real-time voice and data transmission requirements of its users, Saturn created a worldwide backbone network with Ascom Timeplex network equipment. The network started with 45 LINK/2+ nodes worldwide, and this year has expanded to 90 nodes. These nodes use advanced time division multiplexing technology to manage bandwidth and traffic, as well as to provide support for emerging real-time applications, such as video-conferencing. Clients connect into SGN's network using Ascom Timeplex customer premises equipment.

SGN nodes are located in the world's major financial centers supporting 24-hour financial information traffic. They include London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and Zurich.

The SGN international network is based on Ascom Timeplex products, which have proved to be highly reliable and adaptable to the changing needs of SGN and its customers -- the highest levels of data integrity and security across the network are critical in international financial transactions. As a service provider itself, Ascom Timeplex also has enhanced the Saturn Global Network offering by providing worldwide network equipment installation, upgrade and maintenance services.

"Saturn Global Network shows how economies of scale, plus economies resulting from shared network management expertise, can be realized and then shared between a network's users on a worldwide scale," says Jon Polonez, general manager (North America), Saturn Global Network. "Ascom Timeplex offers an ideal relationship for Saturn, providing not only a technologically evolving product line as demonstrated in their SYNCHRONY products, but also excellent worldwide network service and support for us and our customers."

About Saturn Global Network

Saturn Global Network is a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of MW Marshall, an industry leader in foreign exchange and money brokering. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and with affiliate offices in London, New York, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore, SGN provides network services for approximately 100 international clients. Through its innovative services, Saturn Global Network attracts a wide range of customers who recognize the benefits of dealing with a flexible and reliable end-to-end service provider.

About Asom Timeplex

Ascom Timeplex is a recognized leader in networking systems and services, offering scaleable enterprise internetworking solutions that unify LAN and WAN technologies.

Ascom Timeplex helps organizations manage business-critical voice, data and video traffic by providing solutions led by innovative network development, implementation and support services, based in scaleable local and wide area network technology.

Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, Ascom Timeplex offers global sales and service support for all of its products in 70 countries on seven continents. Ascom Timeplex is an operating division of Ascom Enterprise Networks, a core business unit of Ascom Holding AG, Bern, Switzerland, an international telecommunications company with shares traded on the Zurich Stock Exchange.

CONTACT: Patricia Jachens Rohme, 201/391-1111

Tony Fisch, 818/501-6608